Junior infielder Ryan Jones attempts a tag during a May 28 loss to Illinois at Huntington Park in Columbus, Ohio. Jones had one hit and a run in the Cape Cod League All-Star Game on Friday.
As MSU baseball players Ryan Jones and Tony Bucciferro stepped on the field at Fenway Park, 4 Yawkey Way, in Boston, on Friday, they found themselves on hallowed ground.
On the same field once patrolled by the likes of Babe Ruth and Ted Williams, junior infielder Jones and senior pitcher Bucciferro played for the East Division All Stars in the 2011 Cape Cod League All-Star Game.
Bucciferro pitched a scoreless inning while Jones added a hit and a run to help lead the East Division to a 4-1 win.
“It definitely was a chance of a lifetime, and it was a great honor,” Jones said. “It was really cool to know that a lot of big leaguers have come and are still playing at this field. There’s so much history, and it’s something cool to be a part of.”
The Cape Cod Baseball League, or CCBL, is a summer baseball league for some of the top collegiate players in the country. Many players who have had success at the big league level have spent a summer playing in the CCBL, including Boston Red Sox outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury, Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun and Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Evan Longoria.
Jones and Bucciferro are teammates on the Brewster Whitecaps, playing out of Brewster, Mass. Junior third baseman Torsten Boss, who did not qualify for the All-Star Game, also plays in the CCBL for the Cotuit Kettleers in the village of Cotuit, Mass.
Both Jones and Bucciferro are impressing scouts and showing off the skills that helped lead MSU to its first Big Ten championship in 32 years in May. Bucciferro leads the East Division with 35 strikeouts and is second with an ERA of 1.70. Jones, who earned a first-team All-Big Ten selection in 2011, hits with a .293 batting average, good for sixth in the division.
“It’s just crazy to test your skills against the best,” Bucciferro said. “Jones is hitting some unbelievable pitching, and it’s fun to watch him work at the plate. It’s fun to test my skills against the best hitters.”
Having two of his players on the CCBL All-Star team is an exciting experience for MSU head baseball coach Jake Boss Jr.
Boss — who tries to stay in contact with his players about once a week — said the success his players are having in the CCBL and leagues across the country only can mean good things for the Spartan baseball program.
With the losses of Big Ten Player of the Year Jeff Holm, Big Ten Pitcher of the Year Kurt Wunderlich and Big Ten batting champion and MSU all-time hits leader Brandon Eckerle, Boss said he needs guys to step up in the 2012 season, and success in the summer for these players could foreshadow success in the future.
“Losing those three guys, we need three other guys to step up and fill those voids,” Boss said. “Having a good summer in the best league in the country, I think, is a start for that, and so hopefully that will continue on to the fall and into next spring.”
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